Dirty Secrets
by Kikushi
Summary: Sophia is hiding a traitorous intention against her will to eliminate everyone except Fayt and Maria under Biwig's orders. But her actions are delayed because of a certain swordsman. Will she be able to eliminate him in the end? Alphia and Sophia-centric.
1. Scheming

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own Star Ocean, but I do own the plot of this story._

_**Note:** First chapter is up, reviews are appreciated._

* * *

**Dirty Secrets**

**By: Kikushi**

Sophia squinted in the dark as she made her way to Palmira Plains. Ever since since she had reunited with Fayt and the rest of the crew, she had taken to secretly training at night. She out of all people knew best about how indecent and inappropriate it was for a young girl her age to be traveling alone at such a late hour. Still, she didn't want to be a burden.

The little village of Arias had fascinated Sophia ever since she had first set her eyes on it. She had never been to an underdeveloped planet before and simple things such as wheelbarrows and water wells made her eyes widen with curiosity. It wasn't that she didn't know what they were used for. No, in fact, she had been educated in the subject of underdeveloped planets. She was just so excited whenever she saw things that she normally wouldn't find on Earth.

Halting her steps, Sophia glanced back at the inn, just to make sure that no one had seen or followed her outside. She frowned when she found no one. She was sure that someone had been behind her… a cat, maybe?

Mentally shrugging, Sophia continued to her destination, humming softly to ease the little bubble of fear that she felt every time she stepped into the dark night. She turned a corner, secretly wishing that no one was there. Her silent pleading was heard, for the streets were again, empty. She sighed out loud in relief. Sophia recalled back to a week ago when she had accidentally bumped into Albel. She was so startled that she had sped away shyly, earning a narrowed glare from him, dripping with suspicions.

Out of the whole crew, Albel was her least favorite. Fayt, of course, was her favorite in the crew. She had known him all her life and he always looked out for her. Her next favorite was Nel. Nel was always about the mission, but she never failed to stop and ask if everything was going okay for her. Even though she was really busy, she always had the time to listen. Adray was like an uncle to her. Crazy as he might be, Sophia liked him. Mirage and Cliff were both nice to her. Mirage was obviously the silent-but-polite type and Cliff was the kind of in-your-face person that Sophia really didn't appreciate. Maria was okay. She never seemed to have time to talk to her in particular, though. Then, there was Albel- silent and cold, heartless on the battlefield, merciless to others, and ever so good-looking. Sophia didn't know much about him. He barely talked at all and if he ever did, he was usually responding to a question asked by Fayt. He was mysterious- a quality that Sophia liked. But at the same time, he was mean and cold to others and that's why Sophia feared and disliked him. Though she had never caught him in the act of meanness, she trusted Fayt's words when he had told her to stay away from him.

She slipped through the gates and rushed out into the plains. Wind rushed through her hair and she took a deep breath.

"Okay…" she mumbled, drawing out her staff, "I can do this."

Her eyes darted around for an unsuspecting enemy. The silence and suspense made Sophia's heart beat faster. She glanced towards her right, catching some far away movement in the distance. Taking slow and hesitant steps, she approached the figure.

It was an Enforcer! It turned to meet her and immediately started casting Dark Sphere. Thinking quickly, she raised her staff and thought to yell, "Fire bolt!" Instead, her mind flashed on another word and it blurted out of her mouth. "Explosion!"

Sophia gasped at the mistake. Thinking that she would get hit with the Enforcer's spell, she shut her eyes tightly and waited for the blow. She heard a frightening explosion, but she felt not a thing. Cracking one eye open fearfully, the Enforcer was nowhere to be seen.

"W-what happened?" she whispered, turning her head and frantically looking for the Enforcer, "Where did it go?"

It took several minutes for Sophia to finally land on the right conclusion. Her eyes widened. "I did that…?"

Pleased with herself, she started to walk back to Arias. She decided to skip training tonight. She couldn't wait until the day came when she could finally prove herself to the others. No one had called her into battle before, although they have been into battle countless of times. She was just the healing aid. Smiling to herself, Sophia knew that she had finally caught up with the others. It took several days of hard work and waking up with sore limbs, but it finally paid off.

As she crawled back into her bed that night, Sophia fell asleep at once, a smile plastered on her face and not knowing that someone had, indeed, followed her out of the inn that night.

"Sophia?"

Sophia groaned, lifting a hand to rub at her eyes.

"Sophia, breakfast is downstairs. We are leaving soon."

Sophia opened her eyes sleepily and stared at her roommate, Mirage. She was smiling down at her, already prepared to go. Sophia yawned and smiled back. "Okay. Thanks."

"Everyone will be gathered next to the fountain in front of the gate to Palmira Plains in twenty minutes," Mirage called as she walked out of the room.

Sophia sat up, stretching. She couldn't wait to go to battle and impress Fayt. She rushed into the bathroom for a quick shower, got dressed, grabbed her staff, and headed quickly downstairs with five minutes to spare. She greeted everyone she passed by on the way to the kitchen with a smile and a cheerful, "Good Morning!" As she entered the kitchen, she eyed the other occupants in the room. There were only four tables and two chairs at each. Two of the tables were empty and two were occupied. On one table, a nobleman and his wife were having an animated discussion over a cup of tea. On the other table in the very back of the room was none other than Albel. He was sitting alone with his eyes closed, seemingly blending in the shadows.

Sophia slowly moved towards the counter and grabbed the nearest fruit her hand could reach. She decided to eat the fruit outside the inn. Besides, fresh air would do her good. Before she turned to go, she decided to take another cautious peek at Albel, wondering what he was doing. At the same time she turned her head to look at him, his eyes snapped open in her direction. He gave her another one of his cold and suspicious stare through his dangerously narrowed eyes. Sophia was startled at first, but remembering that she was no longer a helpless weakling, she stormed over to him, swallowing her fear. Why was he always looking at her like she was some criminal? If anyone was the criminal, it was him, Sophia decided. She bit her lip, erasing the thought.

Albel didn't remove his stare, even when Sophia finally reached him and stood beside where he was sitting. He simply raised his head to meet her eyes.

"Pardon me, Mr. Nox, but is there a problem?" Sophia asked, trying to match his glare.

He growled, standing. Sophia noted how much taller he was than her and backed away a few steps.

"Getting a little tough now, eh, maggot?"

Sophia blinked. "What?"

Albel took a step towards her, sneering, "Don't think I haven't seen you sneaking out at night."

Sophia's eyes widened in realization. Her cheeks turned red. "What of it?" she asked, unfazed by his glare, "I don't see anything wrong with training at night."

Albel snorted. "Fool. You're wasting your time. Once a weakling, always a weakling."

Sophia watched as he stalked past her and out of the inn. She forced herself not to be hurt by his words.

There was a soft vibration and Sophia looked around, making sure that none of her crew members were present to see her. She pushed up her left arm sleeve to reveal a simple watch. Scanning the room one more time, she pressed a button on the side of the watch and immediately, the vibrating stopped. Biwig's face appeared on the tiny surface of the watch.

"Remember your mission," the Vendeeni leader spoke in a chilling voice, "Or else your parents and your blue-haired friend will die."

"Of course," Sophia replied in a monotone voice, wiping any emotion off her face, "The yellow-haired girl named Mirage is my target tonight. I will see to it that she is properly terminated."

"Perfect," Biwig hissed, sending chills down Sophia's spine. "Remember this, when the time comes, bring the blue-haired girl to me alive. The rest, kill them."

For a moment, Sophia hesitated. Biwig noticed this and spoke, "But not the blue-haired boy, of course. When you deliver the girl, be sure to bring your friend too."

Fear flickered over Sophia's eyes. "You won't do anything to Maria and Fayt, would you?"

Biwig smiled a horrible smile. "Of course not. I just have a few questions to ask and then you and your friends will be dropped off to Earth to see your parents again."

"Agreed," Sophia said. Biwig's face disappeared and the watch turned back to its normal state. She was five minutes late. Rolling her sleeve down to cover the watch, she walked out of the inn and headed to the fountain. She took one bite of the fruit that she had taken and tossed it away. She wasn't feeling hungry right now.

* * *

_**Note:** Second chapter is coming soon. Tell me how you liked it so far and what you want to happen next. Plot suggestions are always welcome. :) -**Kikushi**_


	2. What No One Else Can See

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own S03, but I do own the plot of this story._

_**Note:** Of course, Biwig. How did he survive? Does he have a twin brother:) You'll just have to wait and see. As for my pacing, it is rather quick. I never had the patience to write expanded moments, so I'm sorry._

* * *

**Dirty Secrets**

**By: Kikushi**

All eight of them had left for Peterny as soon as Sophia had met up with the group near the fountain. As usual, every monster they had encountered was either fought by Fayt, Albel, and Nel or Maria, Cliff, and Adray. Mirage also fought, but Sophia just stood on the sidelines and healed everyone. When they got to Peterny, they stopped at the inn and booked their rooms. Nel called everyone into the kitchen and Sophia knew that they were going to have another meeting. The tables were pushed together to form one big table. Every one took their places.

Sophia sat in her usual spot in the corner. Ever since her conversation with Biwig, she could not bring herself to look at anyone in the group. At first, she listened intently to what everyone was saying, but as time ticked by, Sophia lost interest and drifted to her own thoughts. She sighed softly, boredom getting the best of her.

Sophia played with a loose string on the hem of her sleeve. The watch was underneath that sleeve. She had been sitting in silence for a very long time now. Her eyes traveled to the floor. She was going to be the cause of her teammate's downfall. All of their war meetings and carefully organized plans were in vain. Surely, no one expected the sweet, bubbly, little girl that they thought she was to be their worst enemy.

"Is that okay, Sophia?"

She let her eyes fall on her left wrist. The burden she carried with her day after day, night after night… Just under that soft, pink sleeve was….

"Sophia?"

Sophia's head snapped up quickly. All eyes were on her. For a second, Sophia feared that they had been able to read her mind, twisted as it was. But she knew better. Sophia forced a tiny smile. They had just asked her another question. Every question she was asked was usually a yes or no question. All she had to do was say yes.

"Yes," Sophia replied, mimicking her thoughts.

"Then it's settled," Fayt said, turning his head back to the others, "We'll head to Aquios to give a report and then head back to Styx."

The others mumbled in agreement and soon, they left one by one, disappearing to wherever they wanted to go. Sophia watched, not getting up from her spot. Fayt, the last one of her crew to go, looked back at her as he made for the door.

"Sophia, do you want to take a walk with me?"

Sophia's eyes lit up instantly. "Of course, Fayt!"

Together, they left the inn and walked side by side towards the heart of the town. They walked side by side, enjoying the fresh air and the animation of the little town. Neither spoke for a while, not wanting to break the calm silence. When they reached the church, Fayt sat on the front steps and motioned for Sophia to sit next to him. She silently obeyed.

"Sophia…" Fayt began, twisting his hands, "Is everything all right?"

Sophia looked up at him, annoyed at his yes and no question, but his eyes were focused on his hands. She frowned. That wasn't a good sign.

"Yes, of course Fayt. Why?"

"It's just…" Fayt stammered, looking away from her so she couldn't see his face, "You seem so different… since… well…"

It was Sophia's turn to look away. She opened her mouth to reply, but Fayt wasn't done.

"Ever since the Vendeeni-"

Something flashed in Sophia's eyes and she snapped her head to look at Fayt. "Fayt," she interrupted, smiling at him as he turned his head to face her, "I'm fine Fayt, honestly! You worry too much."

Fayt stared worriedly at her. He loved seeing his best friend in the whole world smile. But recently, she hadn't been smiling all that much. Relief had flowed through him when he saw that she was smiling at him, but for some reason, it didn't seem as genuine. After a moment, he returned her smile. "That's good to hear. Maybe I do worry too much… are you sure that nothing else happened to you?"

Sophia shook her head good-naturedly. "No, Fayt. You really do worry too much."

Fayt laughed. "I do," he agreed, smiling down at Sophia, "It's great how you always have the patience to hear me out. Is everyone treating you well?"

Sophia giggled softly. "You're only asking me this now?"

Fayt blushed and shook his head vigorously. "Uh, n-no! It's just that… uh… I-I…"

Sophia placed her right hand on his shoulder. "It's all right Fayt. I understand. To answer your question, yes, they're all pretty nice."

Fayt looked guilty. "That's good to hear," he said, "but I'm really sorry that we haven't been spending time lately… It's just that—"

"You're really busy saving the world," Sophia finished for him.

Fayt nodded. "Yeah," he responded lamely.

Sophia stood and offered a hand to Fayt. "Come on," she called to him, smiling, "You have duties to do."

Fayt smiled gratefully up at her and took her hand. "Thanks, Sophia, for understanding."

"That's what I'm here for."

Fayt dusted himself as he got up. "I'm going to the workshop to make more orichalcum if you need me. Want to come?"

Sophia smiled and shook her head. "Maybe I'll drop by later. You go on ahead."

Returning her smile, Fayt walked to the workshop. Sophia stared after him, letting her smile down. As soon as Fayt was out of sight, her eyes flickered to her left wrist. The cursed thing had been vibrating for a while now. Sophia glanced at the church behind her.

_No one should be in there_, she thought nervously.

Opening the doors to the church, she quickly stepped inside. For a moment, she forgot all about the vibrating device on her wrist and looked around her, wide-eyed. The church was beautiful.

"Wow," Sophia whispered. She turned around, hitting her left arm on a bench. It made a loud noise and Sophia jumped, startled. Without thinking, she pushed up her sleeve and angrily pushed the button on the side. Biwig's face appeared on the surface of the watch and his angered face matched her own.

"Why didn't you answer??" he hissed angrily, his voice dripping poison.

Sophia bit her tongue as hard as she could before answering to rid her anger. "Fayt was talking to me," she answered emotionlessly.

"Is the girl gone?" Biwig asked, ignoring her statement.

Sophia shook her head. "Not yet. I'm planning on doing it tonight."

Sophia had a sudden urge to turn her head and when she did… She turned the watch off fast and rolled down her sleeve.

"Albel!" she managed to say, although thoroughly shaken in the inside, "What are you doing here?"

Albel stared at her coldly. "I could ask you the same," he replied, giving her the same answer from the day before.

"I just wanted to see the church," she lied, smiling.

Albel narrowed his eyes. "I'm watching you, worm."

Sophia gulped as Albel turned away from her and marched out the church. Surely, he couldn't have seen her talking to…

Color drained from Sophia's face. Albel was going to tell the rest of the crew. Fayt and her parents were done for. Sinking into a nearby bench, Sophia lifted her hands to her face and started to cry.

Walking towards the armory, Albel tried to shake the disturbing memory from his head. The maggot from the church- he had always thought that there was something wrong with her. He had seen her come in the church and look around absentmindedly, but he had not expected her to roll up her sleeve and… talk. Out of curiosity, he had slipped soundlessly behind her and had taken a peek at the watch. While the maggot continued to talk, the watch just ticked by normally.

_She's insane_, Albel thought.

The worm had been talking to a watch. All by herself. As if there was something on it that no one else could see.

* * *

**Note:** _I hope you like it. :) Reviews are nice. - **Kikushi**_


	3. Temporary Insanity?

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own SO3, but I do own the plot of this story._

_**Note:** Thank you for your reviews! The story goes on and like I said before, the explanation about Biwig's appearance will all come together soon enough. You just have to keep reading!_

* * *

**Dirty Secrets**

**By: Kikushi**

Sophia dragged her feet back to the inn with a heavy heart. The sun was half-way to setting. Everyone should already be there, waiting for her to show up. Surely, Fayt wouldn't let anyone a wink of sleep until she had returned. Although the thought was funny to her, Sophia couldn't even force herself to crack a smile. When she pushed the door open, she fully expected everyone to chain her down as soon as she entered the inn, yet, the others barely managed to give her a side glance.

"Sophia! There you are!" Fayt called, rushing over to her at once.

Sophia looked over his shoulder and caught a slight hint of Albel as he disappeared up the stairs.

"I told you she would be okay," Adray called, following Albel, "She's a big girl."

"Can we go to sleep now?" Cliff joked, grinning.

Fayt turned to glare at him and Cliff backed a few steps and headed up stairs, followed by Mirage and Maria.

"Where were you? Are you okay?" Fayt questioned Sophia.

Sophia nodded, rubbing her eyes and yawning to show Fayt that she was tired. "I'm all right, Fayt. I just stopped by to see the church and lost track of the time." Sophia smiled a little. It wasn't all a lie, at least.

Fayt gave Sophia a stern look, sensing that she was lying. Sophia's smile faltered a bit. Ah, the joys of knowing someone your whole life. "Really, Fayt," she said stubbornly.

Fayt opened his mouth to reply, but Nel interrupted from behind him. "Come on Fayt. Be a gentleman. You heard the lady- she's tired."

"But—" He took one last look at Sophia and sighed, defeated. "Fine, I'll talk to you tomorrow, okay?"

Sophia nodded. "Okay."

"Good night, Sophia… Good night, Nel."

"Good night." Sophia and Nel chorused together.

The two women watched as Fayt climbed the stairs slowly. When they both heard the sound of his door shutting, Nel turned to face Sophia. "Is there something you want to talk about?"

Hiding her greatly increasing annoyance, Sophia shook her head and offered Nel a smile.

Nel nodded. "If you need someone to talk to- other than Fayt, then you should know that I'd be glad to help."

"Thanks, Nel." Sophia said, her smile becoming real, "I'll keep that in mind."

With another nod, Nel exited the inn.

Sophia stood still for a few minutes. What had just happened? Didn't Albel tell everyone? Surely, he saw Biwig on the screen of her tiny watch. If so, why would he keep it to himself? Sophia smiled. _Then again_, she thought, _maybe he didn't see after all._

Regaining a little fire of hope, Sophia followed her crewmates and headed to her room up the stairs also. For the first time ever, Sophia had a room all to herself, since Nel had decided to go on and stay with the old woman that had taken care of Ameena. She took off her clothes and changed into a lighter wear: red pajamas with black cat paw prints on them. It was her favorite. Besides, it was red… and if she happened to stain her clothes from the deed she was to do tonight…

Sophia eyed her staff. She wouldn't dare use symbology. It would wake everyone up. Sophia frowned in thought. "What should I do…?"

All of a sudden, she had an idea. Sophia looked down at the floor. She liked Mirage. Mirage was beautiful and smart. She was a Klausian! Sophia knew that if her crewmates were given one choice: Mirage or her, they would definitely pick Mirage. Sighing, Sophia fell down with a heavy sigh on her bed. Everything she was doing… Was it right or wrong? She always knew that murder was wrong, but given the circumstances… Sophia stared up ahead at the ceiling. Would Fayt hate her when he found out? Her view of the ceiling blurred and Sophia found herself drifting off to sleep.

_It was early in the morning, about seven, perhaps. Sophia rolled off the bed groggily. She felt sticky all over and she felt something in her left hand. She lifted her right hand and rubbed her eyes, yawning tiredly. Something wasn't right._

_Opening her eyes, Sophia gasped in horror. In her right hand was a bloody knife and she, too, was drenched with dark, red blood. She flung the knife away and stood up, frightened, and then froze at what she saw. Fayt… her parents… they were on the end of her bed, lifeless. Blood oozed out of them and flowed throughout the entire bed. "No!" Sophia screamed, holding her head, "this isn't real!"_

_Shuddering, Sophia rushed out of the room, holding her stomach. Tears filled her eyes but she refused to let them fall. She was still in the inn, only the walls were drawn on with dripping red… paint, Sophia hoped. She rushed downstairs, meeting many lifeless bodies on the floor on the way: Mirage, Cliff, Maria, Nel, and Adray. All of them had a knife plunged in their chests. Panting for air, Sophia made her way to the kitchen, feeling dizzy and sick at the same time. When she bust the door to the kitchen, thick, black smoke surrounded her and she made her way inside, coughing madly. It took a while for the smoked to clear, but when it did, her eyes widened in shock._

_The whole room was on fire. Sweat and tears poured down from Sophia's face._ This can't be real_, she thought,_ this isn't happening…

_Albel stood in the middle of the room, glaring at her with his cold eyes. Sweat poured down from his skin. Sophia watched in horror as he slowly drew out his Crimson Scourge and slowly lifted his had to point it directly at her. There was a chilling laugh from the corner of the room and Sophia knew at once who it was._

_"Finish her off, Albel," Biwig commanded._

_Albel lunged at her—_

Sophia woke up, her eyes wide and gasping for air. Her heart was beating wildly. She was back in her room, wearing her red pajamas with printed black paw prints on them. She wasn't drenched with blood either. Sighing in relief, Sophia squinted in the dark at her wrist watch. It was one in the morning. Getting up stiffly, Sophia crept to her door, making sure that no one could hear her from the other rooms. She shut her door softly and tiptoed down to the kitchen. She needed some water to calm her beating heart.

---

He was all alone. No one was there with him. The night kept him a secret and all was quiet. He was all alone… and he liked it that way. Just an hour ago, he had made his way into the kitchen and sat down on one of the chairs in the corner. He hated sleeping in fear of unwanted memories haunting him in his dreams. He sat there thinking for many moments before his sharp and alert ears picked up a soft creak. Someone was coming down the stairs.

Albel made a point to blend his body in the dark corner. Surely, whoever was coming in would not be able to see him. The door creaked open and Albel watched as a small, delicate foot stepped in, followed by the rest— He almost rolled his eyes.

'_What's that worm doing here?_' he thought bitterly.

His peace was interrupted and Albel had a silent urge to kill her on the spot to gain back that peace. Although at the same time, he was slightly curious to see what she was doing.

He watched, still and careful not to make a move, as Sophia made her way to the counter nearby. She grabbed a paper cup and glided to the water faucet. She drank many times before she dropped the cup into the trash, breathing heavily.

"It was a just a dream…." Albel heard her whisper shakily.

Sophia stood there motionlessly for so long that Albel felt his back aching from sitting so upright on the chair. He was about to shift his position slightly when Sophia crumpled to the floor on her knees, sobbing silently. Her chin was pressed to her chest and her hands covered her face. Her brown hair hung loosely from both sides of her face.

Albel stared at the pathetic form on the floor, putting two and two together in his thoughts. So, clearly, the girl had a nightmare and was crying about it. Albel almost snorted. He got up and stepped out of the shadows and watched, amused, as Sophia lifted her face slowly to face him. She gasped in shock, and swung her head around madly.

"No fire…" she whispered, her tone frightened. Remembering that Albel was present, she wiped her eyes on her sleeve quickly and got up. She smiled, changing her tone, "Hey, Albel."

Albel stayed silent, observing her smiling face. Only a few seconds ago, she had been devastated and crying. "Stop smiling, fool."

Sophia tilted her head. "Why?"

Albel crossed his arms, giving no answer. He simply looked at her and waited.

Sophia frowned. "You saw me crying?"

"Bah. No maggot can be happy all the time," Albel spat, clearly avoiding her question.

Sophia nodded in agreement. "That's right. You have to do things that might not make you happy in order to be."

Considering her words, Albel crossed the room and sat in front of a round table near the kitchen's exit. Slowly but hesitantly, Sophia followed him and sat across from him. She looked down at her lap, feeling Albel's eyes on her. Sophia felt herself blushing. She knew that he was silently demanding an explanation from her. She knew that Albel was expecting her to leave, but Sophia was not ready to go back to her room, alone. She dreaded to be alone at this moment. She did not care who to seek company from, even if it _was _Albel Nox.

"Um… I…I don't want to go back to sleep yet," she stammered in a soft voice, forcing herself to look up and meet his gaze.

Inside, Albel felt surprised. Out of all the other members in their group, Sophia was the least he thought that he had in common with. Then again, that's what he thought. At first glance, anyone with eyes could simply tell that they were, in fact, opposites. Albel had a dark, cold expression that he wore often while Sophia floated around bubbly, smiling that never-ending smile of hers.

"Are you afraid of your dreams, maggot? That's a fool for you," Albel spoke harshly. He watched as the girl lowered her eyes in silent anger. '_As if I should be talking_,' Albel thought, realizing what he had just said.

Sophia snapped her head up, glaring at him. "I'm not afraid of my dreams! I'm afraid of—" Sophia stopped abruptly, knowing that she couldn't say Biwig's name, she hastily spoke, "What I'm about to do."

Sophia's eyes widened. '_Oh no!_' she thought.

Albel raised his eyebrows slightly, suddenly interested. "And what would that be, worm?"

'_Think, Sophia, think…_' Sophia's eyes flickered when a thought crossed her mind and all of a sudden, she no longer wanted to be there with Albel. She would rather die in her own dreams, she decided.

Sophia knew that Albel was looking at her, waiting for an answer. She hastily stood up to go, but stopped when she felt a bone-crushing hand grip her right wrist.

"You're not going anywhere, maggot."

Sophia frowned. "I don't think it's any of your business, Albel."

Albel growled softly and his eyes flashed dangerously in the dark.

Sophia gulped. She didn't want company anymore. She wanted Albel to leave her alone. '_What's the fastest way to get rid of him?_' Sophia wondered, not wanting to use the only plan she had thought of earlier. The grip on her right hand tightened and Sophia whimpered. It hurt.

Slapping her free hand on the table, she leaned across, still standing, and pressed her lips against Albel's, closing her eyes and knowing that she had caught him off guard. As soon as Albel's grip on her loosened, she immediately yanked her hand free and broke away, not able to look at him.

"That's what I wanted to do," Sophia whispered before making a mad dash out the kitchen. She trampled up the stairs and rushed into her room, shutting the door hurriedly and locking it behind her. She ran at once to her bed and buried her head in her pillow, blushing fiercely. Sophia fell asleep that night, forgetting all about her mission. All she could think about was the kiss.

---

Albel sat there, frozen in place for many minutes. '_What the hell just happened?_' His mind screamed at him, along with a million other thoughts. He pushed his thoughts away and cleared his head. He would not think about this until he had gotten his sleep. Albel stared at his human hand on the table. He knew that he had been hurting her when he grabbed her wrist, yet, he just _had _to hear an answer from her. Running his fingers through his hair, Albel sighed.

"That wench is more insane that I thought."

* * *

_**Note:** There you go. :) Review if you have time, and thank you in advance. -**Kikushi**_


	4. Permanent Insanity

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own Star Ocean: Till the end of time, but I do own this plot._

**Note:** _I'm sooooo sorry for the super long update... thing was- I was on vacataion. :) Heehee, so sorry. But no... I haven't given up on this pathetic story. Thanks for the reviews! I have given you special thanks towards the end of this chapter. I hope you like it! -_ **Kikushi**

* * *

**Dirty Secrets**

**By: Kikushi**

It took Sophia a while to recall the events that had taken place yesterday night. Aghast, she stopped her pacing near the window and allowed herself to fall face down on her bed. She buried her head into her pillow and muffled a long, frustrated scream into it.

_What have I done?_

As she left her room to meet her crew downstairs, she had a feeling that she was about to find out.

* * *

He scanned the room, ignoring the other members of the crew that had arrived. He had been the first one to come, hoping to settle some… uh, 'things', with the "wench" from last night. Naturally, the girl had decided to arrive last. 

As she came down the stairs slowly, Albel noted how her face was set with uncontrolled nervousness and her right hand was clenching her left wrist rather tightly. He narrowed his eyes, knowing under that pink sleeve was a watch that the girl had a habit of talking to. Though he was curious, he had come to the conclusion that it was something people from a different planet does. It was weird- yet what other explanation was there?

He watched smugly as Sophia glanced around the room, her eyes flickering over his face. Her eyes widened a little and in a split second, she looked away, blushing furiously. Unfortunately for Sophia, this did not go by unnoticed.

Albel watched, stone-faced, as Fayt made his way beside Sophia. In the corner of his eye, Albel could see the miffed blue-haired girl watching intently. He returned his gaze back to the childhood friends. Although he could not hear what they were saying, Albel could summarize the situation by watching the girl blush redder and redder as the blue-haired maggot continued to talk. Finally, Sophia shoved the maggot and ran out of the inn.

"Sophia!" Fayt yelled after the lost girl.

Albel smirked. As the group directed their attention to Fayt, he graciously slipped out the door and followed the girl.

* * *

_No. No. _

Sophia ran as fast as her legs would take her.

_No… This can't be happening to me._

She finally collapsed somewhere in a narrow alley next to an old well. The place looked familiar, but she gave it no heed. There were flowers nearby, but even so, it just wasn't enough to cheer her up. She refused to let tears fall from her face. She did not deserve to cry.

For a really long time, Sophia sat on the ground, leaning on the well and thinking. She was so lost. What had happened to her? Where was the old, happy Sophia that she once knew herself to be? Through her thick haze of thoughts and memories flowing rapidly in her mind, she managed to make out a faintly distinct voice.

"Wench."

Sophia looked up, squinting at the figure standing in front of the sun above her. She almost gasped, but decided to hold it back. Her eyes traveled downward and stared at the dirt.

"A-Albel…" she muttered softly. She knew what he had come for.

"Explain, wench. I haven't got all day."

Sophia couldn't see his expression because of the sunlight around his face. But then again, she didn't exactly feel like standing up to see.

She sniffed, at a loss as to what to say. She licked her lips. "Um…." She began lamely, pausing for time. She could almost feel Albel rolling his eyes in annoyance.

"Well… Why did I do it?" she tried again, but no thought came to mind. Desperately, she shut her eyes and clenched her fists. She'd just have to tell the truth. "Well, I- I don't… I don't know!"

At first, she had almost expected him to kick her, but when she felt nothing but the beating of her heart, she cracked one eye open.

"So you don't know," Albel stated, repeating her words slowly. Sophia couldn't help but to notice how his voice dripped with sarcasm. He flexed his claw and for a moment, Sophia found herself rolling over her death wish in her head.

"Normal people don't do things they don't know the answer to," Albel sneered down at her.

Sophia found herself glaring. '_Speak for yourself_,' she thought bitterly. "I guess I'm not normal then," she spat testily… or rather, meant to. She found her voice wobbly and heavily burdened. It was sad.

Neither of them spoke for a moment and Sophia found herself closing her eyes. It was true after all, she wasn't normal. She was a murderous freak… even so, why did her words hurt her so much? When she finally decided to open her eyes to confront Albel, she was shocked to see that he had crouched down in front of her so that his face was leveled with hers.

"Worm, you haven't answered my question."

Sophia felt like hissing at him. "But it's true! I really don't know why I did it!"

"What kind of answer is that?!" Albel yelled furiously.

"An honest one!" Sophia shot back.

Albel growled, but Sophia wasn't finished.

"You know, you're wrong about people not doing something that they wouldn't know the answer to… Sometimes, they just rely on instinct or defenses."

Albel felt one of his eyebrows rising. "So you mean," he spoke slowly as if trying to make himself clear and understood, "that you acted on your instinct when you kissed me last night?" Albel smirked and leaned his face closer to her so that the tips of their noses were almost touching. Obviously, the girl didn't know what she had just gotten herself into.

Sophia gasped and blushed madly, her eyes widening. She shook her head rapidly. "N-no! That's n-not what I meant!!"

Albel's smirk grew wider as he studied their position. Sophia was sitting with her back tightly pressed against the well. Her feet were tucked under her and her hands were gripping her knees. Albel kneeled in front of her and lifted his arms. He placed his hands on the stone well, just next to Sophia's shoulders. She was trapped with nowhere to go.

He leaned in so that their faces were close. "So you mean, wench," he spoke slowly and dangerously low, "that you were acting on defense? To what I wonder?"

Sophia gulped, she could feel herself trembling. Her eyes were locked with Albel's and she could feel his breath skimming lightly on her flesh. "Oh… uh," she whispered, swallowing some more. Her gaze traveled downwards to his lips. She licked her lips.

"I mean… No… that's not it at all," she continued in a shaky whisper. She felt lightheaded and intoxicated. Her mind couldn't focus on a single thought. Was it just her or was it waaaay too hot here? She could feel the heat radiating from Albel's closeness.

"Oh? Then whatever could it be?" he muttered in a mocking tone, his eyes glinting with danger. He leaned in closer and Sophia felt dizzy and drunk.

"Hmm…" she hummed softly, "I'm not sure…."

Sophia felt her head swaying as she watched Albel's lips. They were so soft last night. She wanted to feel them again. Sophia blushed at the thought, furious. What was wrong with her? Why did she feel so dizzy and lightheaded and intoxicated? Why couldn't she think straight?

She felt herself loosening up and before she could scold and stop herself, she brought up her left hand and traced a finger alongside Albel's lips, all the while forgetting that he was carefully watching her.

A powerful vibration on her wrist caused her to jump and snap out of her dizzy state. But before she could react again, something soft crushed down forcefully on her mouth and it took a while for her to register that Albel Nox was, in fact, kissing her.

His normal hand was gripping her vibrating wrist- the hand that she had traced his lips with. Sophia worried for a moment that he would feel the vibration, but soon, her mind was engulfed back in the dizzying state that she had been in earlier. She shut her eyes and responded to the kiss, opening her mouth when his tongue demanded an entrance. He explored her mouth for a while and occasionally, Sophia would fight him back away from that spot with her own tongue.

Eventually, he pulled away and stood, turning to go. "Do you know why I did that wench?" Albel asked with his back turned to her. He didn't wait for an answer as he started to walk. "I did it because you damn pissed me off."

He left Sophia blinking for a while, registering in her mind what had happened. Slowly but surely, she got up and dusted herself off. She was in a daze. Once more, she found herself ignoring the vibrating watch on her wrist. She didn't know how long she stood there, confused.

"Sophia!"

"We've split up looking everywhere for you!"

She looked up and smiled when she saw Fayt and Nel coming towards her.

"Sophia… I'm sorry about interrogating you earlier," Fayt said apologetically when he reached her.

Sophia smiled and replied, "It's all right Fayt."

Though she had no clue what he was talking about, Sophia decided to go along with it. She had completely forgotten about what he had wanted to know earlier- whether there was something going on between her and Albel.

All she could think about was how there was something going on between her and Albel.

* * *

**Note:** _There you have it! Hope you liked this chapter! (Oh, and please bear with me- you'll know soon enough as to why Biwig is still "alive"... meanwhile, a little imagination won't hurt, ne?)_

**Special thanks to my reviewers so far!**

Girl-who-sings-the-blues

Dolie x0

Mistress-reebi

Dragon Chyld

_And all the anonymous readers out there! Thank you so much. :)_ - **Kikushi**


	5. Inside the Library

**Disclaimer:** _I do not own SO3, but I do own the plot of this story._

**Note: **Heehee... This was the weirdest chapter I've written so far. o.O; Don't kill, me- please! It's just a little Mackwell/Sophia going on. :) Since the crew won't pay attention to poor Sophia, then why not the inventors?

* * *

**Dirty Secrets**

**By: Kikushi**

The road to Aquios was a very dangerous one. Irisa fields. It was filled with Giant Moths and Proclaimers. Thus, they were put in and out of battle while the sidelines healed and watched.

As usual, Sophia was not a happy camper.

She watched moodily as Fayt and Albel swung at the Proclaimer just as it teleported to Nel. Immediately, it started to cast Dark Sphere. Adray hooted from beside Sophia.

"All right!" he cheered happily at the Proclaimer, "That's what I'm talking about!"

Mirage and Maria watched from the other side of the field quietly while Cliff made his way beside Adray and cheered with him as Dark Sphere was cast.

Sophia groaned and watched as the three dealt with the blow. Immediately, she twirled her staff and cried out, "Healing!"

Clearly, Fayt had been expecting to get the help from Sophia first, but when he saw that she had first healed Albel, he frowned in dismay.

Sophia healed Fayt next, then Nel. She huffed when she didn't receive a thank you from any of them, though Nel nodded her head at her in recognition.

When the battle was over, they continued to make their way to Aquios. Sophia lagged behind, silently fuming. All they ever thought of her was a healing aid! Her left arm jerked at a sudden vibration. Sophia stopped walking and watched as the group continued, her distance from them unnoticed. Surely, no one would notice if she happened to slip away for a while. Sighing, she hid behind a tree and pulled up her sleeve. She pressed the button on the side of her watch.

A very angry Biwig appeared on the screen.

"What is taking you so long?!" he hissed at her, making her gulp. "Would you rather I eliminate your parents as well as your blue-haired friends right now!?"

Sophia stayed silent, trying to find her voice.

Biwig continued, "I have a whole army, my dear. I am not afraid to switch my plans."

Sophia swallowed some more and opened her mouth. "I will get it done. Just give me some time."

"Time?!" Biwig shrieked, making her flinch. "Fine- I will give you time. I need everyone gone by the end of this month!"

Sophia's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to retort, but Biwig had gone. Shutting her eyes tightly, Sophia fought an urge to scream.

She rolled her sleeve back down and peeked from behind the tree. Her crew had gotten into another battle, not very far from the Aquios entrance. Silently, she walked towards them, her head bowed. She had barely taken her third step when someone or something grabbed her right arm.

She whirled around, her staff clutched tightly.

"What are you up to?"

Sophia blinked. "Maria?"

Maria stood in front of her and crossed her arms sternly. "I saw you lagging behind, you know. What did you do behind that tree?"

Sophia forced a smile. _Why is she being so nosy?_

"I'm waiting," Maria snapped, glaring.

"I was just… thinking."

"Behind a tree?" Maria shot back, raising an eyebrow.

Sophia nodded slowly, not knowing what else to say.

Giving her another suspicious look, Maria spun on her heel and walked away. "You better hurry up," she called behind her back; "Fayt and the others might need healing."

---

And so they arrived in Aquios. They headed straight to the castle and once again, Sophia lagged behind. They were almost up to the castle steps when something caught Sophia's eyes. Not bothering to let the others know, she wandered away and walked into a clearing filled with flowers. Sophia smiled. Just as she reached out to touch a blue petal, a young girl around her age approached her.

"Hi," she greeted, smiling at Sophia. Sophia smiled back and returned the greeting.

"I'm Eliza!" the girl chirped, her blonde pigtails bouncing. "I'm an inventor!"

Sophia noted how Eliza looked like a friend she had back on Earth. Her smile faltered slightly. "My name is Sophia."

"Well, Sophia, what are you doing out here all by yourself?"

Sophia thought for a while before answering. "Hmm… obviously, I'm just getting in everyone's way- including my own best friend, Fayt! Well, ex-best friend anyway. I don't even know him anymore! He's found brand new friends to replace me. To them, I'm just the weak little healing aid. Besides, they really won't notice my absence."

Well… that's what she wanted to say, but what she really said was: "I'm not really needed at the moment."

Eliza nodded. "Ah, okay."

"How about you?" Sophia asked hastily, "What are you doing here?"

"Well—" Eliza paused, her eyes becoming wide. "Oh no! I need to get back to the workshop right away! It was nice meeting you, Sophia!"

Sophia giggled as she watched the girl run off. "Bye!"

Once again, she was all alone. Slowly, she made her way up the castle steps, not really caring whether Fayt was waiting inside to lecture her or not. Nowadays, it seemed as if Fayt's lectures were the only recognition she was able to get from him.

Lost in thought, Sophia took the wrong turn and found herself in the library. Her eyes lit up as she marveled at the many books.

"Wow," she breathed. It reminded her of her parent's library back home.

"Do you need help finding anything, miss?" a voice said from behind her.

Sophia turned slowly to find a very tall man with big loop earrings.

"I am called Mackwell," the man continued when Sophia didn't answer, "I am an Alchemist."

"My name is Sophia," Sophia said for the second time that day. She smiled and looked around. "I was just browsing, really."

Mackwell nodded, placing a book back in its shelf. "Hmm…" he muttered, looking at the books.

"What's the matter?" Sophia asked, walking up beside him.

Mackwell glanced briefly at Sophia. "There's this book that I have been wanting to read," he muttered, frowning. "But it isn't here."

"Oh," Sophia mumbled, playing with her fingers. Her eyes widened slightly at an idea that came to her mind.

"There's this book that Fayt- uh, my friend- gave me. I only started reading it, but it's kind of good. He found it in the Shrine of Kaddan," Sophia said, grabbing the book from her inventory. She looked at the book for a second before handing it to Mackwell, who now directed his full attention on her. "You can borrow it if you want."

His eyebrows lifted slightly. "This… This is—" he stammered, taking the book from Sophia. "Is this what I think it is? The Book of Prophecies 1?"

Sophia nodded, "Is this the book you've wanted to read?"

Mackwell nodded, not taking his eyes off the book. "I can't believe it," he whispered. He looked at Sophia straight in the eye. His expression was so serious that she jumped back, startled.

His gaze on her was intense and Sophia could feel a blush rising to her cheeks.

"Will you really let me borrow it?" he asked hopefully.

Sophia nodded. "Sure… I don't think the others would mind."

Mackwell lowered himself on one knee and took Sophia's right hand. "Thank you so much, Miss Sophia," he said, not breaking his gaze on her. Sophia blushed even harder as Mackwell continued. "In exchange, I will be more than delighted to volunteer myself as your inventor."

He brushed his lips on her right hand…

Just as the door to the library burst open.

Fayt.

* * *

**Note:** _Huh? What's that? ... Oh! The Alphia! Right... Well, you see... Mackwell/Sophia seems like a good pair... Okay, okay!! Just kidding! Next chapter- I promise. :) Review please! _


	6. How to be a Gentleman

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own SO3, just this really pathetic plot that I love. :)_

_**Note:** Kyahaha! I loved writing this chapter. :) You might also have noticed that I'm naming the chapters now. I have decided to limit this story to 15-16 chapters. I have chapters 7 and 8 already done, but still needs editing. Suggestions are welcome, as always!_

* * *

**Dirty Secrets**

**By: Kikushi**

Sophia might as well have killed herself right there. Why couldn't they have been between the bookshelves or something? It was a perfect scene for a soap opera. There was an awkward silence, continually interrupted by Fayt's hesitating mumbles of "What…?" and "Umm...?"

Why do things like these always happen to her? Sophia looked away and shut her eyes, trying to keep her mind off of what was currently happening. She tried to imagine herself back on Earth, talking with her friends. They always talked about getting their first kisses. Sophia's thoughts drifted to her first kiss. He was tall, handsome, and he had dark hair… Sophia blushed. Who was she kidding? It was Albel for goodness' sake! He was also a coldhearted killer, mean, arrogant, and verrry rude. She reopened her eyes and stared at her shoes. Unsuccessfully, Sophia also tried to jerk her hand away from Mackwell's hold. Mackwell, unfazed, straightened himself and stared at Fayt, forgetting that he was still clutching Sophia's hand. "Ah- it is you again. Haven't I spoken to you before about not bothering me?"

Fayt gave him an odd look before setting his eyes on Sophia. "Umm… Let's go," he said.

Sophia nodded, embarrassed. This time, when she tugged her hand away from him, Mackwell obediently let go. She turned back to him halfway to reaching Fayt by the door. "This is Fayt- by the way," Sophia mumbled softly, "He's the friend that I was talking to you about earlier."

Mackwell bowed graciously. "My apologies," he muttered.

The two left the library in an awkward silence- both faces showed complete utter confusion. To Sophia, every step she took seemed like an hour long. She focused her attention on the hallway. It was a very… uh, clean hallway. The halls were a bluish marble color and the floor was thoroughly polished. When they almost reached the front door of the Queen's throne, Fayt stopped walking and faced Sophia. Sophia did the same.

"What is it, Fayt?" Sophia asked, clearing her throat nervously. Sophia decided that she was far too young to be stressing out so much.

For a moment, Fayt just shook his head at her. He slowly lowered his head and his shoulders started shaking. When he lifted a hand to cover his face, Sophia felt genuine worry.

"Fayt?!" Sophia half-yelled, "Are you okay, Fayt? What's wrong? …Are you crying?"

It took a while for Sophia to register that he was not crying, but was indeed laughing. The longer and harder he laughed, the more afraid Sophia felt for her friend.

"Sophia," he mumbled, chuckling still, "What the heck…?"

"What, Fayt?" By this time, Sophia had already decided that Fayt had truly lost his sanity. Still, she patiently waited for her friend to regain some self-control. When Fayt sighed, finally ending his laughter, he looked down at Sophia seriously.

"What in the world were you doing with...with…" Fayt, unable to finish his sentence, threw his head back, laughing madly once more.

Sophia sighed, suddenly feeling exhausted. "With Mackwell?" she finished for him.

Fayt nodded, unable to say anything else. He looked at her again and innocently tried his very best to stifle his blossoming laughter.

Sophia opened her mouth to respond when someone behind her roughly shoved her shoulder while walking past, sending her flying to Fayt's chest. When she lifted her head, she saw that it was, none other than, Albel.

Through her blind fury, Sophia failed to notice how Fayt stiffened at their closeness. Instead, she yelled to the man who was almost at the other end of the hallway, "That wasn't nice!"

He didn't reply… Not that Sophia was waiting to hear a reply anyway. Riiiight. As he turned the corner, Sophia shouted after him, "You are so rude!" Of course, no one bothered to tell the young girl that she failed to notice her own rudeness, shouting in the halls of the castle.

"Aw- give it up, Sophia," Fayt commented, scratching his head. "He doesn't listen to anyone."

Sophia shot him a glare that clearly said 'who's side are you on?' and Fayt backed away a few steps. "Yeah?" Sophia screamed at him, making Fayt wince. "He seemed like a great listener just a few hours ago!"

Fayt watched as Sophia stomped away, absorbing her words. _Albel?__A great listener?_ Fayt thought, rapidly blinking. _Yeah, right._

He reached for the knob on the door, ready to open it and present himself to the Queen when he suddenly remembered why he had been walking all over the castle just a few minutes ago. He slapped a hand to his forehead.

"Sophia!" Fayt whispered, scratching his head. "I had to bring her in here!"

And so Fayt ran after the girl.

----

Sophia didn't feel guilty at all as she dragged a really confused Mackwell with her around the city. In fact, she didn't feel guilty about slamming the library doors open earlier, yanking Mackwell out the door and practically carrying him down the stairs. Most of all, she did not feel guilty about what she was about to do with him. Uh, Riiiight.

"Um… Miss Sophia? May I ask where you plan to take me?" Mackwell tried to ask, his right arm losing all of its feeling from Sophia's grip.

Sophia shot the poor Alchemist a death glare. "You are going to teach someone how to be a gentleman!" she screeched.

Mackwell gulped. _Teach someone how to be a gentleman…?_He sighed. _This cannot be good._

Sophia ignored the onlookers as they snickered and whispered to each other.

"Uh oh, looks like that man is in trouble."

"I hope that girl teaches him a few things!"

Mackwell raised the Book of Prophecies 1 to hide his face. _This i__s so embarrassing._

Sophia scanned the city of Aquios, searching for Albel.

"Where is that rude little-"

"Sophia!"

She turned her head to see Fayt running towards her. At the same time, she saw a blinding reflection of the sun on someone's…claw. It disappeared behind a door.

"Sophia!" Fayt called again.

Ignoring Fayt, she dragged Mackwell to the shop.

"Mommy, why is that girl dragging that man to the weapon shop?"

"You'll see when you're older."

Sophia flushed a light pink, overhearing the conversation, but she felt Mackwell dying. Angrily, she burst the door open and hauled the inventor inside. There were many conversations about her outside the door and Sophia shut it at a certain comment, making a loud noise that made the shopkeeper jump. Unfortunately, Sophia did not notice that she shut the door rather hard on Fayt's face, knocking the poor guy unconscious.

The weapon outfitter contained only two people, save for Sophia and Mackwell. One was the shopkeeper and the other…

"Albel!"

Albel barely acknowledged the girl as he examined some claws from the display case.

"I'm talking to you!" Sophia screeched.

The shopkeeper seemed to magically disappear. Meanwhile, Mackwell was struggling unsuccessfully to pull his arm away from Sophia.

"Hey!" Sophia yelled again. She gave an exasperated sigh when he did not respond. "I brought a friend with me here. You know, he can really teach you a thing or two about being a gentleman."

At that, Albel half-turned in curiosity, an eyebrow slightly raised.

"Oh?" he said, mockingly.

Sophia glared at the back of his head and pushed a reluctant Mackwell in front of her.

"You see this?!" Sophia yelled, pointing a threatening finger at Mackwell, "This is good! This is a gentleman! This is what you should be!"

Albel turned around fully to face them, his ruby eyes gleaming. Sophia lowered her finger and felt intimidated at once, but refused to back away. Mackwell gulped, unable to do anything.

Albel smirked. "Are you done, girl?" he asked casually.

Sophia nodded, unable to speak.

There was a maddening silence in the shop as Albel slowly stepped towards them, his eyes not leaving Sophia's. As soon as he felt Sophia's attention on him drifting, Mackwell jumped for the door and ran like crazy back to the castle, leaving Albel and Sophia alone in the shop.

"Maybe I don't want to be a gentleman," Albel spoke softly when he got close enough to Sophia. The tips of their noses were almost touching.

Sophia squirmed uncomfortably at how close they were, but she didn't avert her gaze. She never noticed just how blood red Albel's eyes were. Sophia felt herself backing away, her hands blindly reaching behind her for the doorknob.

"Do you know why?" Albel hissed, showing his really pointy teeth.

Sophia shook her head nervously.

"Well… If I was a gentleman, then I wouldn't be able to do this."

His sentence barely registered into Sophia's head when he swooped down and claimed her mouth hungrily. Sophia's eyes fluttered shut and she felt her arms slowly looping around Albel's neck as she unconsciously responded to his kiss. She slightly parted her lips in response to his begging tongue and before she knew it, his tongue was exploring her mouth. Sophia tilted her head when she felt Albel's arms snake around her waist, his claw tangled in her hair.

The two became oblivious as the shop door opened with a swish. Only did they notice the one who came in when he gave a heart breaking yell, "SOPHIA!"

* * *

_See you next chapter in **A Few Things to Settle**! - kikushi_


	7. A Few Things To Settle

_**Disclaimer:** I do not own SO3, just this really pathetic plot that I love. :)_

_**Note:** (Sorry for long update! I'm real busy!) Hahaha! You all thought I had given up huh? Well, I have bad news for you guys- I haven't! (At least not yet.) This story is just waaay too fun for me to not finish! You'll see what I mean after this chapter!_

* * *

**Dirty Secrets**

**By: Kikushi**

"SOPHIA!"

Sophia's eyes fluttered open at once and she pulled away from Albel. She turned her head to meet the owner of the ever-so familiar voice and gasped.

"Cliff?"

He was wide-eyed and speechless as he backed away from the door way, revealing the true owner of the voice…

"Fayt?!"

He looked utterly confused, looking from the swordsman to his best friend. He stared at Sophia, demanding a silent explanation, but she looked away to avoid his gaze and guiltily stared at the floor.

"Sophia? What… I don't…" he stuttered, taking a step towards her.

Cliff poked his head inside the shop, momentarily breaking the awkwardness. "I found Fayt on the ground in front of the door, unconscious. Did something happen here? I love a good story."

The three glared at him and he sighed and disappeared from view, muttering, "Sorry, sorry. I'll ask later."

There was a tense silence in the air, though the swordsman didn't seem to be concerned. Albel seemed to be enjoying the new-found attention, for he leaned back on one of the shelves in the store and smirked. He kept his eyes on the girl, although he glanced away once to cockily meet the death glare Fayt threw at him.

"Sophia," Fayt said coldly, his eyes on Albel. "The Queen would like to speak to you about the Vendeeni."

Sophia flinched when she heard the name Vendeeni, for her long-forgotten watch still vibrated on her wrist. She nodded, understanding that Fayt wanted her out, and sped out of the store, leaving him and Albel in the shop. Instead of going to the castle, however, she made her way to the bridge and out of the city, preparing herself to answer the damn watch.

Just as Sophia almost flicked it open, a figure loomed behind her, casting a shadow on her. Surprised, Sophia whirled around and got into her battle stance, ready to fight. She looked up to see the face of her follower and her eyes widened in horror. She opened her mouth, ready to scream.

---

Fayt glared at the man standing in front of him. He was fuming. 'What the hell did Albel do to Sophia? Who the hell does he think he is?' Fayt thought angrily.

Albel smirked, and spat, "Bah. Fool, if you have nothing to say, then move. You are blocking the door, maggot."

Fayt tensed, his tightly clenched fists shaking in fury. "Why… you…" he began, not being able to control his shaking voice. What the hell just happened? For some unexplainable reason, Fayt felt betrayed. He figured that it must be the fact that Sophia didn't tell him about this- she used to tell him everything. The image of Sophia and Albel kissing burned in his head. _I was just surprised, that's all._ Fayt convinced himself. _I just don't want to see Sophia hurt._ But even as he thought it, there was still an unidentifiable emotion that choked him incoherent.

Albel's smirk grew wider. "Spit it out, fool."

"If you hurt Sophia… I'll… I'll kill you!"

Albel scoffed at him, his face returning to the usual scowl. "Like you could, maggot," he spat, interpreting Fayt's words as a challenge and adding, "The girl isn't yours."

Fayt slightly blushed at those words. "She's my BEST FRIEND!"

Just as Albel opened his mouth to say something back, three figures appeared in the doorway. "T-there they are," a raspy voice said. Fayt whirled around to see who was behind him. Two Aquios guards accompanied the frantic shopkeeper. "I want them out of my shop!"

Without another word, Albel pushed past them and left Fayt to handle the situation by himself.

---

BIWIG.

Sophia couldn't move. Her body was frozen in shock and no sound would come out of her choked throat. _What happened?_ Sophia thought, beyond frightened. _Did Biwig think that __I__ was just fooling with him and came to do the deeds himself?_ Sophia didn't know what to do. Indeed she was a damsel in distress, except that no knight in shining armor would come to her rescue. Mentally calculating her chances at running away, Sophia knew that she was in a tight bind. There was no way out for her now. She got herself into this mess and it was up to HER to fix it. She felt hot tears sting her eyes and she angrily blinked them away. _I don't want to hurt anyone… I just can't do it._

The Biwig before her smirked and opened its mouth to speak in a raspy whisper. "Surprised to see me?"

Sophia pursed her lips tightly, not knowing how to respond. She waited for him to say something else, but when he only scrutinized her with his strange, creepy gaze, Sophia gulped and made the effort to talk. "What are you doing here?" she asked, meaning to sound casual but sounding frightened instead.

"I came to see how you were doing," he hissed, suspicion dripping in his cold, harsh voice. "I was starting to get a little… worried."

Sophia bit her lip and said nothing. How can she tell him that she was quitting? Sophia was quite certain that once the words were out of her mouth, he would kill her. That didn't really worry her… much. But what would happen to the others after she was gone? She was the only one who knew that Biwig was still alive. _I'm so sorry- everyone…_

"I told you that I would complete the task," Sophia replied in a hard voice. She almost sounded convincing, but she knew that Biwig would not accept it.

"Then why is no one DEAD YET?" he yelled, causing Sophia to hold her breath. Her heart was beating wildly. Biwig stared at her and lowered his voice. "I am starting to get… suspicious… of you, my dear."

"These things take time!" Sophia argued, on the verge of tears. She was frustrated with herself just as much as she was frustrated with Biwig and she felt her control slipping away in her rage and helplessness. "I told you I'd do it! Why don't you leave me alone?!" Sophia yelled, her tears spilling down her cheeks.

She felt a cold hand on her shoulder and looked up. "Just kill them, my dear," Biwig hissed almost gently, "…and I will not bother you any longer. Just kill them."

Angrily, Sophia shrugged his hand off of her shoulder and wiped her tears violently off her cheeks. "I can't!" she admitted in fury, "I don't WANT to! I'm not a KILLER!"

Biwig's face was twisted in rage. "Why you-"

"SOPHIA!"

Sophia gasped and turned around, finding herself face to face with Mirage and Nel.

"What are you doing?" Nel asked, a little shaken.

Mirage took a step towards Sophia, but she backed away, eyes wide. "We've been looking everywhere for you."

"We heard you shouting and crying," Nel said, cutting to the chase. "But who were you talking to?"

Sophia blinked. Biwig was right in FRONT of them. Why couldn't they see? Was it just a trick? Sophia pointed to Biwig. "He's right there! Can't you see him?"

Nel and Mirage looked at the direction Sophia was pointing then exchanged worried glances with one another. "Sophia," Mirage began gently, "There's no one there."

Sophia blinked. Surely this was a joke? What in the world was happening to her? "C-can't see…? But Biwig! It's Biwig! Right there!" She half-screamed, waving madly at the creature who was hissing at her furiously. Nel perked up at the name and Mirage looked very concerned.

"You were never on my side!" Biwig hissed at Sophia. "You liar!"

"I CANT KILL!" Sophia screamed at him, more tears flowing down her cheeks. "Stop it! Leave me alone! Leave us alone!"

Nel put a hand on Sophia's shoulder. "Sophia… Is there something you wish to tell us?"

"Biwig wants me to kill all of you!" Sophia yelled. "He's right there! Do something!"

"Sophia, there's no one there-"

"Yes there is!"

"Sophia-"

"You stupid, lying girl-"

"Leave ME ALONE!" Sophia screamed, sobbing. She clutched her hair tightly, looking crazy. Everyone was quiet for a brief moment; the only sound was Sophia sobbing.

"Tell us what happened." Nel commanded, quite serious now.

The two women listened as Sophia told them about Biwig's plans. She stopped occasionally to retort back to the Biwig that no one else could see and would burst into unexpected tears. There was an uncomfortable silence when Sophia was done with her story.

"Please don't hate me…" Sophia sobbed.

Nel and Mirage looked at each other. Mirage stroked Sophia's hair.

"Sophia…" Nel said, a little nervous, "You do realize that if Biwig was REALLY here right now, he would have killed all of us already, right?"

Mirage shot a glance at Nel before turning back to Sophia. "Sophia, may I see that watch of yours?" she asked kindly.

"NO!!!" Biwig hissed so loudly and threateningly that Sophia jumped. "DON'T!"

"You don't control me anymore!" Sophia yelled back at him. Before she could even blink, Biwig was pointing a gun at her.

"Fine," he hissed coldly before pulling the trigger. There was a deafening BANG and Sophia felt pain surging throughout her body as she fell down on the dirt.

"Sophia!?"

Her friends' cries were the last thing she heard before losing consciousness.

* * *

_You're all probably wondering if I'm insane or not, right? Well, you'll find out in the next chapter! Reviews welcome! Oh, and thank you sooo much for your kind reviews! I assure you guys- I have an ending to this story already planned. - **kikushi**_


	8. The Gentleman

_**Disclaimer:** I don't own it, for the last time, damn it! Now stop rubbing it in!_

_**Note:** You all thought I was dead, huh? Well, I kind of was, but that's due to my new hectic schedule. (Whew!) Anyways, you might find our heroes to be both a little OOC, but that's just because I haven't played SO in a while... Speaking of that, I should really start a new game in the Universe level I worked so hard to open._

* * *

**Dirty Secrets**

**By: Kikushi**

There were voices.

Even though Sophia ached all over, she felt like she was floating. Her head pounded like she had just been beaten to a pulp. But on the other hand, Sophia was also aware that there was something different about her. Somehow, there was a new feeling of relief on her senses- like she had just been relieved of a big, heavy burden. Her arms felt lighter than before as well…

No. Correction: not her arms. Just her left wrist.

What happened to her? Sophia tried to open her eyes and feel her wrist, but found that she was not able to do neither action. A sense of dread filled her suddenly. Had she been found out? A familiar, deep sound in the background snapped Sophia out of her musings. She found the sound to be a voice. Fayt's voice. Clearing her thoughts away for later, Sophia decided to focus on what her friend was saying.

"-can't believe this! Those bastards!"

"Calm down, kid! There's nothing we can do about it now." Cliff.

"But-!"

"He's right. We'll just have to wait until Sophia wakes up." Nel.

There were various noises that followed after the silence. Sophia could only guess that it was someone bustling and shuffling things about.

"According to my assumptions, it is likely that Sophia will be waking up later today. In fact, I won't be surprised at all if she can hear us talking right now. My guess is that she's still not up to moving yet." Mirage.

"Making your own hunches?" Cliff's voice was teasing. Sophia mentally sighed at the older male's antics.

"I was merely making calculated estimations," Mirage replied back.

Then a different third voice, slightly girlish and bitter, spoke up. "But this is low. Even for Biwig."

Sophia tensed. Biwig. It all came back to her now. Vivid scenes flashed in her head. Nel and Mirage were there, trying to calm her down, listening to her confessions, and then Biwig. He was there too. He shot her.

There was Nel again: "Come on. Let's go someplace else to talk. We have much to discuss."

There were many footsteps shuffling and the sound of the door closing soon followed. Sophia felt like screaming in anguish. Why didn't she just die? She was scared and ashamed of herself. She didn't even want to think about what her friends, or ex-acquaintances, as Sophia didn't think it right to call them friends anymore, might do to her when she woke up. She could already imagine Fayt's face- brokenhearted for a second time in finding out about her betrayal. Sophia never wanted to see that hurt look on her childhood friend's face ever again. And what about Albel?

She stopped in her hurried thinking. The millions of swirling questions and future scenarios in her mind came to a sudden halt. What _about_ Albel? The question seemed to plague her mind. It was one of those questions that resembled a written exam:

**What about Albel:**

_**A)** There's nothing ABOUT him since there never was an US anyway._

_**B)** Are you telling me you actually gave in and you like the sexy man now?_

_**C)** ABOUT HIM?! That's what's always on your mind lately! About him, about him, about him! It's ALWAYS about HIM!_

_**D)** All of the above_

_**E)** None of the above_

The answer seemed to always lead to either D- All of the above or E- None of the above. Sophia was never good at taking these kinds of exams. If the answer happened to be either A, B, or C, then that meant that there was only one correct answer and all of the other choices were false. But then again, if the answer was either D or E, then all of the choices either had to be true or false. So then there was that question again: What about Albel? This question occupied Sophia so much that she failed to notice herself slowly drifting back to sleep.

_"__Sophia! Sophia!" The voice was honey-sweet, like a mother calling softly for her child. Even in the midst of chaos, the sound was clearly heard._

_"Mommy!" A small, three-year-old girl with shoulder-length brown hair ran barefoot to the soothing voice._

_"__Hurry__…__ Sophia! Run__…__w-__while you still can!"__ So much blood gushed out._

_"But I don't want to leave you!" __The child's __voice was strained and broken; tears were streaming down her chubby, dirt-covered cheeks._

_"Smile, my dear… Smile…" The fading voice was barely heard above the explosions._

_"MOMMY!"_

_Then there was a man. "Oi! Over here! There's a survivor here! It's a child!"_

_Another man. "She's the last one. Let's go before the place blows up!"_

_"NO! MOMMY! NO!"_

Crap. Sophia stirred, trying to open her one-hundred-pound eyelids and somewhat succeeding. Sweat and tears pouring down her face.

"Ughh…" she groaned in both pain and dread. It had been years since she had that dream. Exactly how long ago it had been, Sophia herself couldn't remember.

A voice interrupted her thoughts.

"So you're awake."

She knew that voice anywhere. Blinking a few more times and wiping the back of her hands, Sophia struggled to sit up, pain shooting up and down her body. She was surprised to see that she was back in her own room as if nothing had happened. The room was dark and only illuminated by the half-moon looming outside the open window. There was hidden figure in the far corner of the room, opposite of where she lay. Sophia didn't even have to guess who it was.

"Albel…? What are you doing here?"

She watched as the figure shifted and stepped into the moonlight, directly in front of the window. Sophia immediately caught sight of Albel's glowing red eyes. He didn't appear to be angry, but he wasn't pleased to see her awake either. His expression was unfathomable.

"…."

Sophia lowered her head, her hand gripping the side of the bed tightly. "You must hate me now right? All of you must hate me now."

"…."

She took the silence as a yes. She knew that no one was ever likely to forgive her, but she at least had to let them know that she was sorry. She took a deep breath and weakly began, "I- I… I know what I did… w-was wrong, b-but-"

"Bah, fool."

"Huh-?" Sophia looked up and watched as Albel came nearer. None too gently, he grabbed her left wrist. As if on instinct, Sophia immediately began to yank her hand away, her eyes in horror, until she realized that the device was no longer strapped onto her wrist.

"You're such a weak fool," was the cold reply to her actions. Sophia looked up at Albel, but he looked more concerned than harsh. Tears threatened to spill from her eyes.

"I know I am," she whispered, closing her eyes, "So will you please stay with me? Just until I fall asleep?"

She used to make this request to only two people in the past: Fayt and her mother.

Albel was quiet for a moment. "Fool," he spat, "Just go back to sleep."

Sophia silently obeyed and closed her eyes. She smiled faintly, feeling the warmth of the swordsman's hand that still, but now gently, held on to her wrist. "Thank you."

Even though there was no reply, Sophia thought of only one word describing her companion.

Gentleman.

* * *

**Note: **_All right, there it is! Now please, please, please review. I do need motivation, you know. If even ONE person reviews, It'll be enough for me to go on. Oh and a small favor, please? For all those people who put this story int their alerts, please review as well!_

_The next chapter will explain and finally reveal what everyone has been waiting for! Why has Sophia started seeing Biwig? And just why is she the only one who can see them??_

**Next time:** They Weren't Hallucinations!

_Thank you to all my readers._


	9. They Were Not Hallucinations!

_**Disclaimer:** It's MINE!!... ...No! It was a joke! It's not mine! Don't sue meee!! I don't own anything! Nothing!!_

_**Note: **I was getting mighty tired of not telling people exactly what the hell was going on with Sophia... so here it is._

_**WARNING: This chapter contains slight Maria thrashing and ranting... Also mild Sophia depression.**_

* * *

**Dirty Secrets**

**By: Kikushi**

"… And that's when I woke up here," she said, sitting up straight on the bed.

The group crowded around Sophia stared at her in shock. A heavy silence followed after her words, clouding the room with thick tension. Of course, sweet, innocent, little Sophia was the least suspected of the group. It may as well have been Mirage, who appeared wise and mature, but Sophia? It was almost unthinkable.

"N-no… it can't be," Fayt moaned, clutching his head, "This can't be real!"

"That's because it isn't," Maria replied simply. All heads turned to her. Sophia opened her mouth to retort back angrily, but was silenced by a look from the blue-haired girl. "Although it is shocking that YOU out of all people would choose to betray us…" her voice trailed off, adding awkwardness into the situation.

Maria cleared her throat. "Anyway, I had Mirage investigate that strange contraption that you had around your wrist. Mirage?"

Mirage nodded, stepping in. "It seems like somehow, the device was sending off special waves in Sophia's body."

Everyone stared at the blond haired girl as she started pacing around the room, deep in thought. It seemed like she was muttering to herself more than she was speaking to the group. "Those weird waves… somehow, when the device was attached to Sophia's wrist, it gave her weird visions and delusions that weren't visible to anybody else. But the pain… How did that happen? Maybe it was all graphed into the watch already… But that's too calculating… How is this possible?"

"Um, Mirage?" Cliff called.

"Oh, I'm sorry! Anyway, I believe that further investigation is needed."

There was a pregnant pause.

"Everyone should get out now," Nel spoke, "Sophia still needs rest."

Everyone said their words of weak encouragement to Sophia and headed out the door. The three girls, Maria, Nel, and Mirage stayed behind. When the guys eyed them with suspicion, Nel pushed them out roughly, exclaiming it was "girl talk".

"That was awful," Mirage moaned, "I don't want to have to lie to them again."

Sophia bowed her head shamefully. "I'm sorry… It's just- I don't want them to worry about me."

Nel kneeled down next to the bed. "But Sophia… are you really all right?"

Sophia turned her head away, "Well…."

"Look!" Maria snapped, "You have to tell us what's going on! You just said you didn't want anyone to worry about you, but the way you're acting now doesn't bring much truth to your statements! You have to at least put in some effort into backing up what you said!"

Sophia lowered her head. Effort? Just how much effort did she need to give before everyone was satisfied? Sophia was furious at the accusation, but she knew she deserved it.

"Maria!" Mirage exclaimed, "That's enough!"

Maria ignored her. "If you don't want to say anything, fine! That just proves how much you want more attention for yourself! Ever since you joined this group, we've all had one extra mouth to feed and spend money on! For goodness' sake, you don't even fight! At least before, you did some stuff, but of what use are you to us now? I bet this whole thing has been a scheme to get Fayt's attention anyway! Well you know what? No one cares about you!-"

Sophia flinched, staying stone silent while the other two girls tried to stop the crazy woman.

"-This is probably the only way you can get attention for yourself! While everyone else is being tortured-"

Flinch.

"-On the battlefields, you just stand far away, waving your stupid staff around! You can't even protect yourself-"

Flinch.

"-From the weakest monsters out there! If you weren't Fayt's childhood friend, I wouldn't have even hesitated to throw you out of this group-"

"MARIA!" Nel and Mirage shouted for the ump-teenth time. Breathing heavily, Maria backed away and turned for the door. Nel grabbed her wrist in time, stopping her.

Nel glared. "Maria, whoever said that you had the decision to choose the people in our group? We are all comrades here and if Sophia goes, I'm sure both Fayt and I will follow."

"That goes for me as well, Maria," said Mirage, "I think Adray and Cliff will follow Sophia too if you did that. Please, this isn't any way to behave like a proper leader."

"Fine! That leaves me with only Albel! Albel is good enough-"

"No," said a soft voice. All three heads turned to the quivering girl on the bed. Both of her hands were clenched tightly into fists.

"Sophia?" said Nel.

"No… Maria's right."

"Sophia, what do you mean?"

There was an eerie silence.

The three girls near the door exchanged glances, temporarily forgetting their arguments. The brown-haired girl lowered her head even further, making it so that half her face was hidden beneath her bangs. She mumbled something under her breath that sounded awfully like: "No one cares… torture…I can't protect myself…"

Mirage approached Sophia cautiously. "S-Sophia?"

"Torture…."

"Sophia, it's all right…"

"No one cares…"

Nel rounded on Maria. "You! You said things that triggered something from her!"

Maria looked frightened and dumbstruck. Speechless, she said nothing.

"Sophia, it's all right," Mirage repeated, reaching out for her. Sophia flinched back from her touch, shivering violently.

"NO! DON'T TOUCH ME!" Sophia screamed, shaking and sobbing, "LEAVE ME ALONE! NO MORE!"

Nel, Mirage, and Maria were at a loss of what to do. A look of pain and torture clouded Sophia's face and none of the three girls dared to approach. They waited for a few minutes and watched as Sophia finally gave into exhaustion and fell asleep.

"Hey…" Nel whispered softly, "Could it be…?"

"Yes, I think you're right," Mirage replied back in an even softer voice. "The Vendeeni… they must have tortured her so much. After all, we have no idea what happened during all those days of her imprisonment."

"So what does this mean?" Maria asked.

"I think Sophia's going through some type of Posttraumatic stress disorder… but to such a degree that she was having hallucinations and replaying the pain that they inflicted on her… to feel such torture over and over again, only from memory… that's so… DAMN THEM!"

Nel and Maria jumped in shock, looking at the blond girl as if to make sure that those words came out of those soft, cherry lips.

"It's just so… so CRUEL!"

"Should we tell the others?" asked Maria.

"Given Sophia's present state, I think… it would be the right thing to do," Nel replied.

Mirage shook her head. "But if we sent Sophia back to Earth, there's no guarantee that she'll be healed for sure. Plus, she'll be tested on… and then there's a risk of exposure that Sophia's body was genetically altered due to forbidden research."

No one said anything after that, because there was nothing to say. Mirage tucked in Sophia, making sure that the girl was comfortable and Nel shut the lights. The three women shuffled out of the room and quietly closed the door behind them.

Unknown to all, up on the roof, gazing at the brilliant stars in the night sky, was Albel Nox.

Words had fluttered to his ears like butterflies through the open windows.

* * *

**Note:** _Sorry, I didn't really check for grammar, spelling, and punctuation errors, so forgive me if there are any! Actually, telling me would be more helpful._

_Thank you once again for all those who have stuck with me and are still reading! I love you, my reviewers. )_

_(no order):_

shadowwolf75

Dollie x0

Rogue Daffodil

Mayab

Delta Major

Tinkies

Dragon Chyld

hayatenox

mistress-reebi

Gentle Smile

Girl-who-sings-the-blues

_...And also for others. ) Thank you. Please continue to read on!_


	10. Don't Look Back

_**Disclaimer:** For a thousand times, and a million more, I do not own any of the characters, nor do I own Star Ocean III._

_**Note:** And here comes the tenth and final installment of Dirty Secrets. Thank you all!_

* * *

**Dirty Secrets**

**By: Kikushi**

It was still the dead of night when Sophia woke up, sweating profusely, trembling like she was laying naked in a snowstorm. Her terrors of what had happened to her in the past refused to leave her behind, and Sophia knew that she could not fight back against hallucinations.

Sophia wrapped the blanket around herself more securely, despite how hot she was underneath, her eyes wide open. She did not have many options if she wanted to live in peace. She was lost, unfounded, and not going to be found soon. Going back to Earth was like setting herself up for an appointment with the Vendeeni for tests, and Sophia knew that she could not stay with Fayt and the others any longer. After all, she had tried to kill them, under the influence of Biwig's hallucination or not. She knew that even though the others were quick to forgive her, there would always be a shadow of a doubt. The damage was done, and nothing could undo it.

Sophia's breathing grew labored under the thick blankets huddled against her, tears forming slowly in her closed eyes. It was not so much as self-pity that caused such heavy grievance in her heart, but the fact that she had planned to eliminate the others, all the while the cause of it being her unconditional and unrecognized love for Fayt. However, she was not so sure of that now. Fayt was neither friend nor lover to her. He acknowledged her no more than a childhood possession he was reluctant to share and let go of. Besides, Sophia herself finally came to the conclusion that Fayt was no longer, after all these years, her object of desire. A cold face came to her mind, and Sophia felt her burdens lifting, her checks becoming warm.

"Albel," she whispered in the dark, lovingly, secretly, and with strong, confident finality.

Diverted out of her thoughts of terror, Sophia threw the blankets off of her body, feeling pleasantly chilled at once. She did not know where she was planning to go, but she knew she had to get away. She had caused enough trouble, and she herself being a trouble magnet, did not help at all. Sophia did not even manage to drop a foot on the floor when—

"Where do you think you're going?"

_Albel!_ Sophia's head shot up, her eyes trying to find the owner of the voice in the dark.

"I'm over here, fool," a lazy drawl breathed into her neck.

Jumping and twisting comically in surprise, Sophia fell, bottom-first and ungracefully, onto the floor. "Owwie…" she sniffed, pitifully.

Albel peered down at her from the other side of the bed, a small and almost undetectable grin present on his face. "Are you always that graceful, or were you putting on a show?" he asked icily, making fun of her current situation. Accidentally, his eyes glided downward, and his breath hitched in his throat.

She was dressed in her short, flimsy night attire, and pink cats, Albel noticed, danced around the cloth. Two thin, easily-breakable straps held the dress up on her body, and one of the straps had slipped from her shoulder. The way her body was glistening with sweat did not help Albel's self-control any either. As if Sophia had just spent an hour in the rain, her hair clung to her body, and her night gown was almost see-through from its drenched state. Still, she lay sprawled on the floor, trying to recover from her recent, and indecent, fall. This gave Albel a mighty view of her dark red panties and he found himself staring at her creamy, pale thighs.

_She has long legs_, Albel thought vaguely.

Feeling herself under heavy scrutiny, Sophia blushed, righted herself, and stood, slightly shaking on her feet. Here she became aware of the swordsman's nighttime attire. He was bare-chested and wore nothing but dark blue slacks, the drawstrings completely loose and untied. Sophia's blush grew and this did not go unnoticed by Albel. Placing a soft hand over her heart, she whispered, "Albel, you scared me!"

Albel scoffed and looked away, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "Obviously," he muttered under his breath.

Having heard this, Sophia bit her lip and pressed on, "But Albel, why are you in my room?"

And Albel looked at her for a long time, as if trying to send his words from his eyes.

When Sophia said nothing, understood nothing, Albel gave a careless half-shrug. "Someone had to stand guard over you, fool. After all, who knows what you might be capable of at night?"

As soon as the words left his lips, Albel immediately regretted it. He saw the pain and the regret shadow her eyes and knew that she had taken his words the wrong way. He waited, wanting to take the words back, but couldn't.

"I…I'm sorry," Sophia whispered, "I really am." And at the last word, she broke down, burying her face in her hands, sobbing. "I'm so sorry, Albel. I'm so sorry."

He did not know what possessed him. In later years, he would tell her that it was because he loved her, and could not stand to see her so upset. But in truth, as he walked around the bed towards her, arm outstretched, he did not have a single coherent thought in his mind.

Ever-so-gently, he placed his hand on the back of her head and pushed her roughly into his chest. "You really are stupid," he whispered, almost fondly.

Shocked as she was, Sophia found that she could not move, and so she did the only thing she could, and sobbed pathetically on Albel's strong, bare chest. Even though she was grateful to Albel for comforting her, the swordsman had different, wandering thoughts.

Albel gritted his teeth painfully, as he tried not to let his hands wander downwards from its current position around her waist. Her sticky chest and drenched-with-sweat body pressed tightly against his body mocked him completely. '_Am I trying to TORTURE myself?' _Albel thought angrily. But as Sophia's sobs quieted to silence, Albel realized for the first time just how fragile the girl really was.

The room suddenly seemed too quiet to both of them and the air grew awkward. However, with almost a satisfied pleasure, Albel noted how Sophia failed to pull away from him. Neither knew how long they stood there in each other's embrace, Albel unconsciously stroking Sophia's damp hair, and she softly tracing the many long scars that ran along his stomach.

"Albel," Sophia began, softly, as if in a trance, "what are you doing in my room?"

The swordsman sighed wearily. "I thought I answered that already."

"I don't believe you."

He pulled away slightly to look into her wide, slightly puffy, chocolate brown eyes. He opened his mouth, but closed it again, as if having second thoughts.

"Wench, does it really matter?" he snapped, angry at both himself for not being able to tell the truth and at the girl for asking so many damn questions.

"To me, yes."

He growled suddenly, threateningly, not at her response, but upon finding that he, once again, could not summon the words out of his mouth.

Surprised, Sophia jumped back, but before she could even blink, she found herself pulled back into Albel's arms. He held her tightly, as if telling her he didn't want to let her go. Then he buried his face into her hair, his hands on her shoulders, his thumbs hooking the straps of her night dress. Very carefully, he slid them down her arms, so that her chest was exposed. Sophia gasped but made no move to stop him as he trailed kisses down her neck all the way to the valley between her breasts.

"You want to know why?" Albel whispered dangerously against her wet skin, his crimson eyes flashing in the darkness, "Do you want to know why I am in your room?"

And moaning softly, Sophia succumbed to him. "Yes," she gasped, her hands roaming in his hair, "Tell me."

He rid her of her night dress and pulled her close to him, "Because I wanted to watch over you," Albel breathed against her ear, "I wanted to touch you, I wanted to talk to you, I wanted to do many, _many_ things." He gave her a wet lick in the ear as he slowly pulled down her dark red panties.

And they found themselves approximately two hours later on the bed, and in complete state of undress, when Sophia asked, breathless, and on the verge of sleep, "But Albel, what did you want to do the most when you came in here?"

He looked at her through half-lidded eyes, his crimson eyes twinkling almost softly at the sight of her. He was silent for a long time, and Sophia was sure that she was not going to get an answer, when he responded. "There was something I wanted to tell you."

Sophia waited, fighting exhaustion, and looking at him with as much innocence as she had just hours ago.

"I knew… I knew what you were planning to do," Albel confessed, wrapping his arms securely around her. "I knew you were going to decide to run away."

Sophia's eyes widened, but she stayed silent, encouraging him to go on.

"Obviously I didn't expect _this_," he continued softly, smirking when she blushed, "but I wanted to give you an offer."

Unable to resist, Sophia asked, "An offer?"

"If you wanted to run away…" he trailed off, yawning, knowing she was getting impatient.

"Albel!" Sophia cried, gently smacking him on the chest, "what? If I wanted to run away?"

He turned to her then, his red eyes so serious that Sophia blushed uncontrollably. "If you wanted to run away," he continued, "I wanted to offer you my companionship."

Sophia blinked. _What?_

"If you wanted to run away, I just wanted to say that I'll go with you. Anywhere, everywhere. I'll protect you. I won't let anyone hurt you. I'm not going to leave you... especially now," and despite how serious he was, Albel smirked.

Sophia felt tears well up in her eyes, and soon, they were streaming down her cheeks. "But why? How did this happen?"

Albel gave her a soft kiss on her temple, kissing away her tears. "I believe you started it."

And Sophia remembered the time she had first kissed him, her surprise-attack in order to escape from his interrogation.

Her love for Albel was not unrequited after all. "I love you Albel," she whispered, her voice filled with emotion and truth.

And Albel, for all he showed himself to be, found that his heart reached out to this girl, this Sophia, whom he had just given all himself to. His crimson eyes began to blur for the first time in a long while, and not from pain.

"Go to sleep. We'll leave in a few hours."

Shocked, Sophia started up, "But Albel… The Creator…"

"They can handle it themselves," he snapped, and it was true, for Fayt, Cliff, and Nel usually dominated every battle. "Go to sleep."

And so Sophia slept, snuggling closer to her newfound strength.

--

It has been three weeks and the group finally felt it necessary to give up on the couple's return. They had successfully beaten the Creator, and were celebrating their victory.

"Fayt…" Maria stepped closer to the blue-haired boy who was still clutching the note that _his_ Sophia had left behind, and dutifully sulking in the corner. "Fayt, come and join us. We're pretty sure that Albel will not harm Sophia in any way."

"AND HOW WOULD YOU KNOW?" Fayt exploded in his fury, directing many heads toward him.

"Hey, man, don't be a party pooper," Clift yelled from across the room.

"Here Fayt, have some peanuts," Mirage chimed in gently.

"I'LL ROAST HIS PEANUTS!"

But no one paid him any attention, save for Maria, who consoled him gently with sweet words.

--

Of course, many years later, they all had quite an unexpected reunion, the site being the chapel of Peterny, where Fayt was in the middle of forever taking Maria as his wedded wife, when the happy couple unknowingly burst through the chapel doors.

And in time, Sophia's terrors and haunted dreams of her past faded away to be replaced with sweet memories of her beloved. Her hallucinations faded away completely and one day, after another heated night of pleasure with her Albel, she realized something.

She had died a long time ago. The day she had been unwillingly separated from her mother many years ago, when she blew up, and Sophia, a child, helpless, could do nothing but look. She had died when her mother had died.

But now, she looked at her husband, sleeping with a gentle look on his face, one that only _she _had the honor to see every night, and then towards the door of their room, as if able to see through the thick wood, where, on the other side of the hallway to the other room, lay their two sweet children.

She had risen from her grave, and Sophia smiled, tears in her eyes.

She was now reborn. Forever, as Sophia Esteed Nox.

* * *

**The End.**

_**Note:** Thank you to all my reviewers!_


End file.
